A record number of renters need help with no-fault evictions, suggesting landlords may be pushing cases through before the practice is banned in England under new legislation.
Citizens Advice said last month it helped almost 2,000 people with section 21 evictions, the most in a single month on record and a 25% increase since May 2022.
The practice will be prohibited in the renters’ reform bill, tabled last month by Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, affecting 11 million private renters.
The National Residential Landlords Association also said record numbers of landlords are selling up as mortgage interest rates keep rising. “The main reason landlords are seeking possession of properties is that it is no longer viable to continue letting,” said Ben Beadle, chief executive of the lobby group.
Citizens Advice research found 48% of renters who have already experienced an eviction had been told their landlord wanted to sell up. The advice charity is also warning of a new “back-door eviction” route in the current draft of the bill, which is going through parliament.
It allows landlords to evict tenants within six months of starting a tenancy if they say they want to sell or move family. But the new rules won’t require landlords to give evidence they have followed through on this once a tenant has left, leaving them “open to abuse from unscrupulous landlords”, warned Matthew Upton, acting executive director of policy and advocacy at Citizens Advice.
“The government must ensure reforms are watertight and not include loopholes which allow section 21 evictions to continue by the back door,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Levelling Up said: “Any attempt to get around the law will not be tolerated, and our reforms will prevent section 21 from being replicated through rent hikes.
“Where landlords seek possession through a court, they must prove their intention to sell or move themselves or family members into the property,” they said. “To prevent landlords from exploiting these grounds, they will not be able to remarket or relet their property for three months after using them.”
The thousands of renters now seeking help from Citizens Advice add to more than 54,000 households in the private rented sector in England who have been threatened with a no-fault eviction since the promise to end the practice was first made by Theresa May in April 2019.
Demand for rentals after the pandemic is up 50% on the five-year average – and coincides with a fall in the stock of rental homes, pushing the price of new lets up more than 11% a year in March, according to Zoopla. Many people threatened with the latest wave of no-fault evictions had recently challenged a rent increase.
They include Amar, his wife, and their two young children, who asked Citizens Advice for help. After renting for two years they were hit with a £400-a-month rent increase. When the couple challenged the rise, their landlord issued them with a section 21 notice.
“The letting agency said there is nothing they can do, either pay more or move out,” said Amar. “I am very worried as I just do not know what we are going to do and where we will live. My wife is so stressed thinking we are going to be homeless on the street.”
